Fifteen Asia-Pacific nations, including China, signed the agreement on November 15. China on Monday termed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement to create the world’s biggest free trade bloc as a “milestone of great significance”, while studies showed that the deal is more of a strategic significance to Beijing providing marginal economic impact. However, while the RCEP adds incrementally to Chinese GDP, it will not be enough to cancel out the damage of the trade war with the U.S., research showed. U.S. President Donald Trump launched the trade war against China demanding Beijing to reduce the yawning trade deficit and slapped billions of dollars worth of tariffs on Chinese imports. Over the same period, the trade war would slice 0.32% from its GDP.

Source: The Hindu November 16, 2020 13:18 UTC